52 Heralding a New Era

"Then where is she now?" asked Iris, keeping her voice as even and calm as possible.

They all pointed down the hallway, saying, "Practice room, probably?"

Iris jerked in the direction indicated, but stopped herself and slowly inhaled and exhaled. Although the news was shocking, a talk with Cindy would have to wait later until after she spoke with Bang PD. She needed to be professional. And perhaps by then, she'd have cooled down to think properly and get more information from the big man himself.

'No wonder I rarely hear from her these days. I thought it was just because I was so busy, but nope, she's been busy herself.' Iris gulped down the thought along the lines of 'behind my back.' She was sure her cousin had her reasons, and perhaps she wasn't allowed to divulge the situation.

BTS and TXT escorted her to the office, and Iris entered the room alone to speak with Bang Shihyuk who had been waiting.

"Iris," he greeted with a smile. "It's been a long time. We're glad to have you back."

"It's good to be back," Iris replied with genuine sincerity.

"Now then, we have a lot to prepare for this year. As you might've seen in the news, we'll be debuting an international boy group through BELIFT LAB, a partnership with CJ E&M. At the same time, we have new boy trainees here directly at Big Hit as part of our 2019 Global Auditions. TXT will also be working on their next comeback at the end of the year while BTS will be preparing for promotions as six members."

Bang Shihyuk paused, allowing Iris a breather to take in all of the information before he continued.

"I know this is a lot to take in. Because besides that, we have you and the other girls to think of as well. We need to fit everything in a tight schedule that's optimal for everyone and the company. Do you have any questions?"

Iris immediately replied, "Yes, I heard that I'll be part of a girl group instead of solo?"

Bang PD nodded. "I thought you might ask about that. The program was done in secret without final decisions made on whether you'd debut in a group or solo, or possibly both. With so much going on in the last two years, we needed to be flexible and keep our options open to capture the best window of time."

He smiled a little as he finished, "I'm sure you have a lot to talk about with your cousin and new group members. Please let us know what you think as I decided to let the final say fall on you. Solo is the easier path and perhaps more success for you. We're also taking a risk on debuting a girl group. But I have my trust in you."

His words struck a chord with Iris. It was surprising that the man behind all of BTS's and Big Hit's success would give her such an influential decision. But it was true that it was because of her that they as a company was even traversing this risky path. So perhaps it was a safeguard in a sense to allow her to choose should anything go awry.

Iris bowed while sitting and confidently smiled. "Yes, thank you for trusting me. I will consider which decision is best for the company's future success."

Bang PD gave a single nod, indicating that the conversation was now over. Iris had been in frequent contact with the company during her IZ*ONE time, so she already knew the state of affairs on a solo-debut level.

The "Pied Piper" Special MV was the gateway to her debut in the company. It connected all of the dots for the public, revealing that she was the mastermind behind both the music and concept for some of BTS's songs. The composer name of "Everland" was confirmed to be Iris Huang.

Specifically, this new MV released on April 22, 2020 told her story. BTS were the flutists who enticed their fans into a new world, making them "addicted." As one of those fans, Iris in the video was seen as wasting away her life going to concerts, buying albums, and doing anything BTS-related at the cost of her social, family, and academic life. Left all alone due to her obsession, even BTS walks away from her.

But in connection to BTS's story of Jin going back in time to save his friends, Jin turns around, shattering the darkness and transporting her back in time to when it all began. Instead of focusing on BTS to the point of being detrimental to herself, she realizes how much her friends and parents cared about her, trying to break her out of her trance.

Time passes, and Iris graduated and is successful, but still remains a fan of BTS without feeling compelled to go to every concert or event and merely keeps updated from home. The final scene ended with Iris reflecting back on her past and how BTS saved her, specifically of Jin just as the clock in the video struck April 11 at 10:00 am—when Jin went to save BTS.

This special video was an instant hit with fans of both BTS and Iris Huang of IZ*ONE. It amazed them how the storylines were intertwined in yet another one of BTS's movie like songs. And because the song was relatable yet inspiring to fans, it only boosted Iris in their eyes rather than lash out for being a girl too close to their prized BTS.

While ARMY was still strong and active in 2020, they were past their more immature, exuberant days of praising their idols everywhere. They could handle the rise of Big Hit as a company and not just BTS. TXT were received well, and so was Iris.

With the news of a new boy group though BELIFT Lab as well as global auditions, fans had been eased into the process of the ever-expanding and successful company that was Big Hit. Fans were already guessing when Iris would go solo or that perhaps the company would finally consider debuting a girl group.

With girl crush and unique concepts being increasingly more popular, everyone anticipated what Big Hit's girl group would be like. They all estimated that they would become big just like the girl groups of the big name companies of JYP, YG, and SM.

So it was understated to say that Iris had a lot weighing on her shoulders. Her decision would affect the heralding of a new era for Big Hit.

'First things first. Next up is talking to Cindy and meeting the girls.' Iris let out a shaky breath, feeling rather anxious. She never expected to be in this kind of situation. And it had been a long time since she had seen Cindy face to face, but now, she would simultaneously meet other girls for the first time.

As she placed her fingers on the door handle to the practice room, Iris cleared her mind. Then, she slowly pressed down, unlatching the door. It creaked ever so slightly, and soon she was met with three pairs of eyes looking back at her.